Ontario Highways

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

MTO still protects the corridor for it. Given the way they are proposing to end the widening at Upper James however, with little consideration for futureproofing in advance of an extension to Caledonia, I don't expect it to get built any time soon.

Neither do I, especially if it involves talking to the Six Nations, with whom the province has had very sour relationship.

[sonysnob]

Night view looking southerly along the 404 from Van Horne Avenue in North York taken last month:


https://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_404-406_images/404_cl_21_south_SB_Sep23_24x16.jpg

[sonysnob]

Highway 407 looking westerly from Islington Avenue in Vaughan:


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_407-409_images/407_cl_64_west_t_Jun21_24x16.jpg

[Dengler Avenue]

I may have finally caught on to the pattern: “See high mast poles? Think sizeable towns (because 417 through Arnprior has those too).”

[sonysnob]

The fact that Arnprior has continuous high mast, yet the 401 in Kingston doesn't is still mystifying. (I know there is some high mast through the Sir John A interchange).

Eastern Region is odd for lighting. The only unlit interchanges in all of Ontario are located in eastern Ontario. (Both on the 401, 416 and 417).

[TownGuy]

Aren't the highmast lights in Arnprior quite a bit smaller than what you see around the GTA? It is kind of bizarre that they're in Arnprior at all though. It's a 1 interchange town with a population under 10,000. I'm assuming it must be a recent highway upgrade through the area?

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by TownGuy

Aren't the highmast lights in Arnprior quite a bit smaller than what you see around the GTA? It is kind of bizarre that they're in Arnprior at all though. It's a 1 interchange town with a population under 10,000. I'm assuming it must be a recent highway upgrade through the area?

Population’s actually at 10.5K. The main interchange is exit 184 but I guess you can count exit 180 as well.
The highway was twinned in 2012.
But yea, it’s bizarre that Arnprior has it. Now I wonder if Renfrew will get it too.

[sonysnob]

The Highway 60 intersection with Highway 17 is currently lit with high mast.

An old one. Similar to the ones at Sir John A in Kingston.

Actually, probably the most similar to the high mast that used to light the intersections along the Thunder Bay Expressway.

[sonysnob]

View looking northerly on the 418 from Taunton Road towards the 407 interchange. (I missed the best light of the evening by like 2 minutes, oh well).


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_410-427_images/418_cl_8_north_NB_Oct23_24x16.jpg

[sonysnob]

North Bay bound:


https://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_11_images/11_dv_344_north_Nov23_24x16.jpg

[sonysnob]

Crossing the Montreal River, in Latchford, on Highway 11:


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_11_images/11_cl_DSC05193_Nov23_24x16.jpg

[Dengler Avenue]

Montreal River in Latchford, Montreal River by Lake Superior… Northern Ontario has quite some issues with recycling names…

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Montreal River in Latchford, Montreal River by Lake Superior… Northern Ontario has quite some issues with recycling names…

Not just Northern Ontario. All across Ontario. There are a number of river names repeated throughout the entire province.

Looking at the Wiki page there are 6 Black Rivers, 6 Sturgeons, 5 Beavers, 5 Indians, 5 Whitefishes, 4 Boynes, 3 Foxes, 3 Poplars, 2 Black Sturgeons, 2 Caribous, 2 Coldwaters, 2 Gulls, 2 Vermillions... and a Partridge in a Pear Tree!

They all seem different based on the locations of their sources and mouths. A testament to the way Ontario was settled I guess. I suspect it's similar for lake names, and for rivers and lakes in other provinces. Duplicate creek names must be even more numerous.

[sonysnob]

Photo of the 407 looking easterly from Pine Valley Drive. New towers are popping up adjacent to the subway extension at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre:


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_407-409_images/407_cl_63_east_EB_Aug23_42x28.jpg

[ScreamingViking]

That thing is becoming quite a beast, in central sections.

Is 12 lanes the widest it is, so far? I haven't driven it in a while.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

That thing is becoming quite a beast, in central sections.

Is 12 lanes the widest it is, so far? I haven't driven it in a while.

Some people say that it’s so wide that further widening will require redoing a lot of the overpasses. That said, I don’t recall any section with 14 through lanes.

[sonysnob]

The 407 has 12 lanes between the 427 and the 400. That’s the final built out configuration of the 407.

Just for interests sake, through Martin Grove Road, the 407 is actually wider than the 401 is.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

The 407 has 12 lanes between the 427 and the 400. That’s the final built out configuration of the 407.

Anything beyond and the province would probably ask for a core/collector system, which would be a massive expense.

Travel demand would have to warrant it though. Aside from a few segments of the 407, at specific times of day, I don't imagine it would for a long while.

[Innsertnamehere]

The 407 from my understanding is still recovering from COVID traffic levels dropping, and is doing so much slower than other highways.

A lot of the 407's customers were wealthy office workers driving to work - who haven't come back to the same extent as other sectors.

There is a reason 407 toll rates were last increased in February 2020 despite very high inflation, and that's because they aren't hitting their traffic minimums to increase the tolls.

The good news is that the 407 in February 2020 was starting to really run into a capacity wall with it being fully built out.. that's been delayed by a while now.

[sonysnob]

Hwy 400 looking northerly from Anne Street in Barrie taken in November. Traffic has been diverted to the outside of the highway's right of way to allow for full-depth reconstruction of the former mainline lanes:


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_400_images/400_cl_96_north_SB_Nov23_42x28.png